TEXAS TOWNSHIP, MI – Kalamazoo Valley Community College part-time and adjunct faculty members have formed a union and are hoping to have it certified by the state by the end of the month.

A group now titled the KVCC Federation of Teachers gathered about 200 signatures from the 312 KVCC part-time and adjunct instructing staff to be considered by the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC), according to part-time instructor Dr. Catherine Barnard.

KVCC Vice President of Human Resources Sandra Bohnet said 134 full-time employees are covered by an agreement with the American Association of University Professors.

“Non-tenured faculty teaches more than 60 percent of the college courses offered each semester. As our numbers grow, exceeding those of tenured faculty by two to one, our vital role in the college’s welfare has become increasingly evident,” read a message on a website, signed by the KVCC-FT Organizing Committee consisting of Dr. Catherine Barnard, Nancy Beers, Ann Marie Boyle, Christopher Karbowski, Kyle Kelly, Laurie Nic, Edward O’Dowd, Kelly O’Leary, Dr. Nishani Samaraweera, Thomas Schurino and Jean Snow.

“Although we have a commitment to and a passion for the education of our students, certain issues have recently arisen that have contributed to an atmosphere in which we feel disrespected as well as fearful about our continued employment. One such piece of evidence is the change in the language of our contracts stating our assignment can be canceled, without due process, as a result of excessive student complaints.”

The group filed their union membership cards with the Michigan Employment Relations Commission (MERC) on Tuesday, March 27 and notified KVCC President Marilyn Schlack by letter on Wednesday, March 28.

Barnard said some of their goals in forming the union are to earn equal pay for equal work, greater job security, benefits, consistent absenteeism, scheduling and grievance policies, top priority to fill full-time positions, and pay increases.

Near the end of April, the organizing committee and administration decided eligibility requirements needed for instructors to vote in the certification election, which is conducted by MERC. The ballots are being sent out on Friday, May 4 and are due back to the state by May 23.

“We’ll see if a majority of the voters want to be part of the union and if a majority of the ballots are in favor of union representation, then the union will be victorious,” said Ruthanne Okun, the director of MERC. “If there are no valid objections it will be certified as a bargaining unit before the first of June.”

If the union become certified, it will need to formalize an organization structure, create a constitution and elect officers before it can begin negotiating salaries and employment issues with KVCC administration.

AFT Michigan Organizer Jon Curtiss said if the union is formed, it will share an office with Western Michigan University’s Professional Instructors (PIO) which is also affiliated with the AFT.

“A majority of the part-time faculty has joined as members and we are thus confident about the outcome,” Curtiss said. “As with PIO and other groups, the motivating concerns are job security, salary, health insurance, and lack of clear policies that affect part-time faculty.”Contact Ursula Zerilli at uzerilli@mlive.com or 269-254-5295. Follow her on twitter.